Jim Ratcliffe on prioritizing success over returns

New Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said Friday that return on investment had nothing to do with his decision to invest in the English soccer giant.

Instead, he says success on the field will be his sole focus.

Ratcliffe’s comments come shortly after the British petrochemicals billionaire and Ineos chief executive finally completed a deal to buy a minority stake in Manchester United.

Ratcliffe on Tuesday finalized a deal to purchase a 27.7% stake in the club. The Glazer family, which has owned Manchester United since 2005, retain a majority stake under the terms of the agreement.

However, the deal allows Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group to take control of soccer operations at the club after the minority investment was announced on Christmas Eve.

Asked by CNBC’s Arabile Gumede about the return-on-investment potential from his expanding sporting portfolio, Ratcliffe replied: “We’re not driven by ROI in sports investments though. That’s not where we’ve come at it from really.”

Ratcliffe said he and others at Ineos had “got to an age in life where we’ve made some money and we’d like to enjoy it,” adding that sport was a shared interest.

“And also, we have moved into consumer markets, you know certainly automotive is a huge consumer market obviously, and the Ineos name wasn’t particularly well known so, through sport, obviously people are getting to know Ineos,” Ratcliffe said.

“Certainly the latest one, they are getting to know about Ineos. My investment in Manchester United is nothing to do with ROI, I would just like to see Manchester United back to where it should be,” he said.

“We only have one focus at Manchester United and that’s to get the performance on the field working as it should.”